Four in Five Canadians Want Banks to Advocate for Them

Four in five British Columbians believe financial institutions should advocate on behalf of consumers on issues that affect their financial well-being. The figure comes from a new survey commissioned by Tru Cooperative Bank, which also found that 95 percent of British Columbians are concerned about the cost of living.

Sixty percent of respondents said they want governments, businesses, and financial institutions to work together to address affordability pressures and strengthen financial well-being. Affordability remains one of the biggest concerns for customers, who want the organizations shaping their daily lives to help address those challenges.

Skinner said they are no longer looking only for financial services, but for institutions that understand the challenges they face and ensure those concerns are heard. Tru Cooperative Bank’s earlier Economic Outlook and Sentiment survey found 45 percent of British Columbians had cut back on groceries and household essentials over the previous year, and 88 percent had made at least one change to their financial habits over the same period.

Policy pressure grows for consumer representation

Thirty-nine percent said their financial situation had worsened over the previous six months, while 48 percent reported saving less or no longer being able to save at all. Fifty-four percent called it a bad time to find a job, against 14 percent who saw it as a good one.

US tariff developments have real impacts on local businesses, families and communities. Skinner said the bank hears directly from members about the pressures they face and is working to represent those perspectives in conversations with policymakers.

Cooperative financial institutions are owned by their members rather than shareholders, a structure Tru Cooperative Bank argues positions them to carry consumer and business perspectives into policy discussions on affordability and economic well-being. This model allows the bank to advocate effectively for its clients.

Real-world implications for these banking relationships are shifting from simple transactions to active partnership. When a customer walks into a branch or logs into an app, they are likely looking for a partner that understands the specific pressures of their region and economic reality, rather than just a place to store money. This shift forces traditional banks and credit unions alike to consider how their corporate advocacy aligns with the daily reality of their account holders, or risk losing relevance to institutions that prioritize member needs over shareholder returns.

The Bank of Canada reported similar household strain nationally in its second-quarter Canadian Survey of Consumer Expectations, released on July 6, saying its consumer sentiment indicator remains low as households continue to report affordability concerns tied to the high cost of living. Consumer spending intentions edged down in the quarter, the Canadian central bank said, with households expecting the war in the Middle East to push inflation higher more likely to substitute cheaper essentials and curtail discretionary spending.

Fieldwork ran from April 27 to May 21. Statistics Canada maintains the only direct provincial comparison on this measure, a table on difficulty meeting financial needs by gender and province, last updated on January 14.

The agency’s April 2026 study “Stretching the loonie” drew on 15 waves of the Canadian Social Survey collected between August 2021 and June 2025, with roughly 20,000 dwellings sampled per cycle. In Alberta, ATB Financial reported in April that 77 percent of Alberta respondents said rising prices for essentials such as food and gas were straining their finances, citing MNP’s quarterly survey of Canadians. Meridian, Ontario’s largest credit union, found 64 percent of Canadians report ongoing financial stress in a national online survey conducted for it by Leger from September 5 to 7, 2025.